Terence
William
Connelly

Terry Connelly
&
Friends

Terence Connelly (rear) poses in Laconia, New Hampshire in an undated photo with biker buddies (from left) Ron Shute, the Haddon Heights police chief, Treat Wells and Ray Ruiz.

Camden Courier-Post
April 8, 2007

2007

Camden Courier-Post - March 8, 2007

CONNELLY, TERENCE WILLIAM
Suddenly, on March 3, 2007, of Williamstown. Age 52.
Beloved husband of Darlene (nee Furgione). Devoted father of Coley and Amy. Loving brother of James and Christopher. Son-in-law of Joseph Furgione. Also survived by many nieces, nephews, brothers-in law and sisters-in-law. Terry had retired after 25 years as an Inspector with the Camden Police Department. He had been employed as an Investigator with the NJ Law & Guardian Office in Gibbsboro. Terry was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Centurions Motorcycle Club of South Jersey and the Masonic USS NJ Lodge #62 in Cherry Hill. Terry lived each day to the fullest. His love of life, family, friends was infectious. He leaves behind many empty hearts.
Relatives and friends are invited to the Visitation from 6:00 to 9:00pm Friday eve with a Masonic Service at 8:00pm. There will be a Visitation 8:00 to 9:00am Saturday morning at GARDNER FUNERAL HOME, RUNNEMEDE. Funeral Mass 10:00am Saturday at St. Joan of Arc RC Church, 3107 Alabama Rd., Camden (Fairview section). Interment at New St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Terence's memory to Terence Connelly Memorial Fund (to benefit his children's education), C/O Commerce Bank, 236 Sicklerville Rd., Williamstown, NJ 08094. Expressions of sympathy may be e-mailed to

A letter from Larry Worrell - March 12, 2007

Subject: Terry - R.I.P.

Good Morning,

I arrived home yesterday from Terry Connelly's  services that were held Friday night and Saturday in New Jersey.  I saw many old friends, including my old partner Gary that I hadn't seen in years.

So many folks did so much to make the weekend so beautiful that I don't want to try to mention them for fear of leaving someone out.

For those of you on the list that knew Terry, here is a brief report of my trip and the services: 

On Thursday the guys that stay at my house with Terry every year for Bike Week flew to New Jersey for the services.  Terry's body arrived at Philadelphia airport that morning and Philadelphia, Camden, and other local police departments provided a Police Motorcycle escort to the funeral home in New Jersey (in 20 degree weather)!  The viewing Friday night was attended by hundreds of relatives, friends, police officers, and bikers from all over the area.  Camden police officers stood at attention with Terry at his casket throughout the viewing. The mass Saturday was also well attended and was a beautiful service held at the same church that Terry was baptized, confirmed, and married in just a couple of blocks from his boyhood home in Camden.  The funeral procession was led by the Camden Police Motorcycle Squad,  followed by a large number of Centurions from the South Jersey Chapter,  other Centurion chapters, along with representatives from other motorcycle clubs in the area.  Terry was laid to rest by bagpipers from the Emerald Society, and a Camden Police Honor guard.  His friends and relatives were joined at the cemetery by the Camden Mounted Police Unit on horseback. 

Terry's wife Darlene, daughters Coley and Amy, brothers James and Christopher, and father-in-law  Joseph Furgione were strong and gracious throughout the long weekend.  They all held up better than many of us. After the services the family held a gathering at a local restaurant.  More than a few stories were told, and more than a few toasts of whiskey to Terry were downed. 

Terry, being Terry, Friday night he brought together a mix of folks.  The viewing line was interspersed with NJ State Police in uniform standing next to bearded bikers wearing colors.  The mayor of Camden attended, along with the guys that worked on his Harley's and his boats.   They were all there because Terry treated everybody the same, he respected everyone.

Also, Terry being Irish, the weekend included a lot of crying, laughing, and more than a little booze following the viewing and services.   

Terry was one of the special ones…

Larry Worrell, (Terry's friend)
DeBary Florida

Volusia County Sheriffs's Offices

March 28, 2007
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

MAN ARRESTED IN MARCH HIT AND RUN DEATH 

Evidence left at the scene of a fatal hit and run accident in DeBary last month helped establish a case against a man accused of driving the suspect vehicle. Statements made by the suspect’s friends further bolstered the investigation, resulting in an arrest warrant being signed Monday. Marc Attianese was arrested at his home in DeBary that evening and now faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death. 

The body of 52-year-old Terence Connelly was discovered along the side of Dirksen Drive near where it intersects Bayou Vista Street at approximately 8 a.m. March 3. Connelly, who was from New Jersey, was in Volusia County for Bike Week. He was with friends at a DeBary VFW and decided at about 2 a.m. to walk to the home he was staying at, which was about a mile and half away. Connelly was apparently walking along the north shoulder of Dirksen Drive when he was struck. He landed in a ditch, and the vehicle driver left the scene without reporting the incident.

Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies discovered vehicle parts at the scene, including pieces of grill trim, paint chips and a headlight lens. From this evidence, traffic homicide investigator John Vedder determined the suspect vehicle was a maroon Dodge Ram truck made sometime between 1994 and 1999. Another break in the case came a few days later when rumors surfaced of a person supposedly admitting that he might have run into a pedestrian on that early Saturday morning. Vedder tracked the rumor down through friends and associates of Attianese who said that he had told them that he might have struck a person with his truck after he had left a bar, but he wasn’t sure.

Vedder met with Attianese at his job in Crescent City. Attianese admitted to being in an accident, but claimed that he had hit a mailbox. Vedder then saw Attianese’s vehicle, a 1994 Dodge Ram truck, and found that it had damage consistent with the hit and run accident. The truck color matched paint chips from the scene and the damaged headlight matched pieces deputies had recovered. A search warrant was later issued for the truck and it was seized for closer inspection. The vehicle damage was verified to match the fatal crash’s evidence and circumstances.

The solid investigative work resulted in an arrest warrant signed by Circuit Court Judge James R. Clayton. Attianese, 26, was then arrested at his home at 144 Marsella Road, DeBary without incident. He was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach. Attianese could face additional charges related to the hit and run fatality as the investigation continues.  

Daytona Beach News-Journal - April 4, 2007
Daytona Beach, Florida

Debris leads to hit-and-run suspect

By SARA KIESLER
Staff Writer

DEBARY -- From one cop to another, Larry Worrell is grateful a Volusia County sheriff's deputy was able to find a man suspected of killing his lifelong friend in a hit-and-run crash.

Traffic Homicide Investigator John Vedder used broken pieces of the suspect's vehicle found at the crash scene to find the vehicle and its owner, according to a sheriff's report released Tuesday.

Trim from a grill, a headlight and maroon paint chips led Vedder to Marc Attianese, 26, of DeBary. The pieces belonged to a 1994 Dodge Ram truck driven by Attianese that struck and killed 52-year-old Terry Connelly on a DeBary road on March 3, the report states.

Worrell and Connelly, both motorcycle enthusiasts, worked together at a New Jersey police department for 25 years. Connelly had been walking along Dirksen Drive after leaving a Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge about 2 a.m., heading to his friend's home after a Bike Week outing, when he was struck and thrown 50 feet into a ditch, the report said.

"Terry was just an all-around great guy. At 52 you're supposed to start enjoying life," Worrell said Tuesday. "I know as a retired law enforcement officer how much had to go into that case."

In an interview Tuesday, Vedder said he used codes on the back of the headlight to determine the truck's year and model, and began canvassing the city -- with the help of concerned DeBary residents -- for the maroon truck.

Then he heard rumors that Attianese told friends he had left the scene of a hit-and-run. Those friends led Vedder to find Attianese at his job in Crescent City.

"If someone came up to you and said 'I think I hit somebody,' would you be able to sleep at night with this knowledge on your chest?" Vedder said.

When first confronted, Attianese told Vedder he was in an accident but said he hit a mailbox, the report states. Vedder noticed that Attianese's truck had damage consistent with the evidence found at the scene. The truck was seized with a search warrant and the evidence was verified as belonging to Attianese's truck.

Attianese was arrested on a warrant at his home at 144 Marsella Road on Monday night, the report states.

The accident could have resulted in nothing more than a citation for driving while intoxicated, Vedder said. But now Attianese is charged with second-degree felony, leaving the scene of a crash involving death, with the possibility of a first-degree felony of DUI manslaughter, he said.

"People just don't stop and think when they're intoxicated or their license is suspended to take responsibility for their actions," Vedder said. "Now, we have two families ruined."

Connelly, who retired as an inspector in Camden, N. J., is survived by his wife and two daughters, who still live in New Jersey.

sara.kiesler@news-jrnl.com

Camden Courier-Post - April 8, 2007
Daytona Beach, Florida

Ex-cop's death shock to many

By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff

Terence Connelly was the first to jump on his Harley Davidson motorcycle when the group from New Jersey met up with their motorcycles in Florida.

Connelly, a retired Camden police officer, flew to the Daytona Beach, Fla., area with Haddon Heights Police Chief Ron Shute and other good friends in early March for Bike Week.

They were staying with a friend, away from the "hell-raising" and had their bikes shipped down, Shute said. Their March 2 arrival meant an opportunity to escape winter weather and ride for the first time all season.

"I'll never forget the look on (Terry's) face," Shute said. "He was so excited to just be riding. You could see the thrill on his face."

It was Connelly's last ride.

A drunken driver hit him as he walked home to a friend's house in DeBary, Florida, around 2:00 a.m. March 3.

He was 52.

Investigators from the Volusia County, Fla., Sheriff's Office arrested Marc Attianese, 26, of DeBary, in connection with Connelly's death.

An inspector with the Camden Police Department for 25 years, Connelly retired in 1998.

Connelly's death shook a family-like group of fellow police officers, bikers, friends and relatives.

Friends remember Connelly, a Williamstown resident, as a man who enjoyed a drink and a cigar. He kept himself in good shape, spoke fluent Spanish and had his hair cut the first of every month. He loved his motorcycle, his boat and playing pool. He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Centurions Motorcycle Club of South Jersey and the Masonic USS NJ Lodge No. 62 in Cherry Hill.

His wife, Darlene Connelly, called her husband "the absolute best father in the world."

Darlene Connelly worked weekends in the emergency room at Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Stratford when the couple's two daughters -- Nicole, 22, and Amy, 18 -- were younger. So, the father would take his daughters on day trips, sometimes to the Pine Barrens, she said.

They would hang out together, Darlene Connelly said, and were extremely close at the time of his death.

Shute said Connelly received a phone call during the group's layover on their way to Florida. Nicole had been accepted to Drexel University College of Law on a full scholarship.

"He was so proud," Shute said. "He told everybody he saw."

Though retired from police work, Connelly was working with the N.J. Law & Guardian Office in Gibbsboro.

One 8-year-old girl Connelly worked with sent Darlene Connelly a letter after her husband's death. Darlene Connelly said the girl wrote she was "so sad" and that she and Connelly were "best friends."

"He enjoyed helping people," said best friend Bill Vail, a Franklin Township resident. "That's part of why he was there."

When his body was flown back to Philadelphia International Airport, it received a police escort to a funeral home in Runnemede. Every intersection from the Walt Whitman Bridge to the funeral home was blocked, retired Camden Police Sgt. Rich Desmond said.

Desmond, who worked with Connelly for nearly 25 years, helped organize the escort and an honor guard for the retired officer's funeral. Camden Police Lt. Lou Hannon helped, too.

"It was an honor," Desmond said. "Terry was an ace, he was just one of those guys."

Those who worked with Connelly remembered the man never changed, despite his ascent to inspector -- the equivalent of deputy chief.

Desmond recalled a time Connelly was a lieutenant and a young officer was transferred to his department.

"The kid kept saying, "Yes, sir,'. You know, out of respect," Desmond said. "Terry says, "The name's Terry.' "

The young officer responded with a "yes, sir," and Connelly again told him to call him by his first name. The officer called Connelly "sir" a third time, Desmond said.

"Terry said, "You call me sir one more time, I'll put you in the cell,' " Desmond said, laughing. "He was a great guy. He treated everyone the same, everyone equal."

Thanks to Larry Worrell and Gary Evangelista for their help in creating this page